The present invention is directed toward a buffing pad and more particularly, toward a wool buffing pad that has its principal use in buffing an automobile and which is designed to indicate when the pad is wearing out and should be replaced.
Buffing pads for use in high speed polishing of automobiles and the like may be one-sided or two-sided. A one-sided buffing pad is typically circular and is attached to a rigid circular backing plate which is attached by a central hub to the shaft of a rotary power buffer. The pad may be permanently attached to the backing plate or releasably attached thereto in order to allow for replacement without disposing of the backing plate.
A two-sided pad includes a buffing pad attached to each face of a rigid backing plate. The plate includes a hub for releasably attaching the pad to the drive shaft or spindle of a high speed buffing motor. The pad may be attached to the motor from either side of the pad, thereby allowing the pad to be reversed after one side has been used.
Typically, such buffing pads are made from tufted wool or from other natural or synthetic fibers. It is also well known to make such pads from a foam material, for example, open cell polyurethane foam.
As the pads are used, however, there is no indication that the pad is wearing out. A worn pad clearly does not function as well as a new pad and can even cause damage to the automobile or other surface being polished.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,106,661 to Raeder et al. discloses various wear level indicators for polishing a pad. In one embodiment the wear level indicator may include means for measuring the thickness of the pad. As the pad is used and loses its desired thickness, the pad should be discarded. In another embodiment a color insert may be positioned within the pad. As the pad is used, the colored insert will be exposed thereby indicating that the pad should be discarded. This indicator device, however, is not used with wool buffing pads for automobiles.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,090,475 to Robinson et al. discloses a polishing pad with a wear indicator. The indicator includes a pad dyed with a particular color. The dye is not exposed in a new pad. As the pad is used, however, the pad wears away and the color is exposed thereby indicating that the pad has exceeded its level of usefulness and should be changed. This indicator device, however, is also not used with wool buffing pads for automobiles.
Therefore, a need exists for an indicator that signals that a wool buffing pad for a polishing the body of an automobile or similar surface is about to wear out so as to prevent any damage that may occur to the surface.